1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to software programs and, more generally, to software-controlled optical, ebeam, or other types of inspection systems for semiconductor wafers.
2. Description of Background Art
As new materials, methods, and processes are introduced into semiconductor manufacturing, new defects are emerging in the manufacturing process that can greatly impact yield. These changes require chipmakers to adopt new technologies to detect and classify these yield-limiting defects more quickly, accurately and consistently in order to tighten their manufacturing processes and accelerate their yield-learning curve. At the same time, shrinking product lifecycles and accelerated time-to-market requirements are forcing fabrication plants to speed their product ramp ups for new products to meet their profitability objectives. This, in turn, is driving the need for faster automatic defect classification (ADC) setup to ensure fabrication plants can reap the benefits of ADC without slowing the ramp process.
Currently existing optical inspection systems with automatic defect classification require human beings to visually inspect semiconductor wafers for suspected defects and to classify the types and causes of the defects in order to set up the automatic classification system. To perform this classification, a human being must sort through hundreds of images that are presented in random order. This process takes many hours and increases the cost of production. Moreover, even skilled human operators are somewhat slow and prone to error.